Christian Conundrum - Serious posters only, please.?

Question

First of all, I'm not trying to provoke. I would like your honest opinion on a verse. This question is for anyone that will answer honestly and politely.

Consider a verse wherein God commanded the death of innocent children. I would like to know if you think:

1) The prophet Samuel was lying - God didn't really want this.
2) The Bible is wrong - God didn't really want this.
3) Both the are correct - God wanted these infants put to death.

If you are a Christian, and if you chose #3, I would like to know whether or not this behavior bothers you and why you follow this god. Thank you.

The verse in question:
1 Samuel 15:2-3

This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.

Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "

If God was worried about the children growing up to commit sin, then why didn't he command the Israelites to adopt the children and raise them in the correct way?

And why didn't he order someone to off baby Hitler a few thousand years later?

So....Gos owns us, so he can order our death any time he pleases? And you're....okay with worshipping someone who orders murder when he feels like it?

This is why I'm actually, literally, a little afraid of Christians.

Answer 1

Please consider this:

In 325AD the prominent Religious Leaders of the day, met and considered over 200 scrolls (books) . Which scrolls would be included in the compilation(we call the Bible)?

Most of these related to Jesus and the new testament. After choosing the ones they wanted, they just automatically included what we call the Old Testament . Why? They said because it was history of Jesus ancestors.

The OT history also included legends (let's not call them myths) they were just stories, mostly true, some to entertain, and some to teach lessons, and some to scare people into supporting the religious leaders.

Do not be too harsh on God to allow his children to write what they wanted to write. (Even back then, God was still giving us free will to choose harmony or disharmony as a way of life)

Your particular verse in question:

Would simply be what Samuel thought God wanted him to do. ("What the LORD almighty says" was probably an idiomatic expression for "I have prayed for God's guidance and this is what I feel we should do")

Can you appreciate the honesty involved in the scrolls that actually admitted that Samuel recommended such drastic actions - to totally destroy innocent children and infants, and cattle and Sheep, and donkeys.

Will Samuel have to answer to God for doing these dastardly deeds? Was Samuel honestly convinced that God wanted these things to be done?

Honesty always seem to come with a price tag. It eventually requires us to admit to our mistakes. It seems that only God gives us credit for admitting our mistakes. The rest of us usually hold grudges, whether we admit it or not. We need to work on that.

Jesus said, "Forgive others for their mistakes; If you do not forgive others, your father in Heaven will not forgive you"

Answer 2

Absolutely #3, God ordered this. It's hard for some people to realize that the God they worship isn't fair. He marked the Israelites out as His own people, he loved Jacob but hated Esau even in infancy, and He predestines His own unto salvation. This lends a lot of credibility to Calvinist theology that reflects this. Christ did not die for the sins of humanity, God does not "offer" salvation to all, and it's uncomfortable to read the verses you've listed. And yet if He's such a monster for being so unfair, I have to look at myself and see who I really am to God -- a dirty rag, nothing I can do can merit Heaven. Now for a God that would be fully justified (translated FAIR) in letting me be destroyed through my own fault, He has yet given me a Savior to do the unthinkable -- to be merciful to me, a sinner, and give me salvation. I'd say that's pretty cool of God to do that.

Answer 3

Because people have freedom to choose and live as they desire God cannot just command people to do one thing and it will be done (and he cannot force it because he would be taking away freedom). Additionally, although mankind has freedom, God provided guidelines/a law for people to follow whereby they could be blessed or punished. If a people choose to disobey God, God has no choice but to apply the punishment. He is not a respector of persons and applies his laws equally across the board. If the application of a punishment results in unsavory or undesireable results (in the eyes of mankind) that is not an issue, because he is only applying the law.

Answer 4

God the Father hates sin, and in the Old Testament intervened directly in human affairs. With the establishment of the New Testament He chooses not to interfere directly, the Holy Spirit is on earth to do that and even His methods aren't immediately obvious...

This brings me back to your question. Very few nations in those days heeded God's warnings (and believe me there were PLENTY of warnings). As for why the children weren't spared...I believe it was for their own sakes so they wouldn't grow up to commit evil. But who am I to know the mind of God?

Answer 5

From a book by Lee Strobel: "An atheist once brought up this issue in a debate, and I responded by saying, 'God created life and he has the right to take it. If you can create life, then you can have the right to take it. But if you can't create it, you don't have that right.' And the audience applauded.

People assume that what's wrong for us is wrong for God. However, it's wrong for me to take your life, because I didn't make it and I don't own it. For example, it's wrong for me to go into your yard and pull up your bushes, cut them down, kill them, transplant them, move them around. I can do that in my yard, because I own the bushes in my yard.

"Well, God is sovereign over all of life and he has the right to take it if he wishes. In fact, we tend to forget that God takes the life of every human being. It's called death. The only question is when and how, which we leave up to him."